SHE'S BUT A LASSIE.

Otago Witness, Issue 1905, 25 May 1888, Page 33

SHE'S BUT A LASSIE.

Written fob the Witness Ladies' Page by "Wych Elm." Chapter XII. The Blake Menage. The Blakes lived in a pretty villa at Brixton—Mrs Blake and her children, that is to say, for paterfamilias was at present absent in the East Indies, whither he had gone to take possession of a tea plantation which he had recently purchased from a distant cousin. Mr Blake was a speculator, and had been so ever since he could remember. He had started his career as a partner in his father's wholesale drapery business, but had thrown this up from sheer restlessness of disposition, and had gone into the army. The same restlessness which induced him to sell out in a year or two's time probably incited him to change his condition , also, and on becoming acquainted with a pretty girl possessed of a thousand pounds he plunged into matrimony, thereby deluding his friends into the comfortable belief that he was going to " settle down." Far from it ! The possessionof the pretty girl might have been soothing enough had it not been for the thousand pounds, which burned .holes in his pocket, so to speak, and he was not happy until every penny was " invested." To tell an old story, the investments were unfortunate ones, and the thousand pounds melted into thin air — a circumstance which discomposed the young husband considerably, and was such a shock to his wife that she became a chronic invalid from that period. She did not storm at her husband for his recklessness, as many wives would have found a consolation in doing, but she turned on him looks of mute anguish and reproach that troubled him. more than words, lost her colour and appetite, and took to her sofa, apparently with the belief that life was no longer worth living without her thousand pounds. , Mr Blake, with some grudging assistance from his father, who had lost confidence in him, then took go studying for the law, for which he had much natural aptitude, and worked himself up into a fair position. He would no .doubt have become very prosperous if he had only "stuck to .his last," but he was perpetually dabbling in some occupation or investment outside his profession, to his great pecuniary disadvantage. Notwithstanding these drawbacks, at the time of our story b.e was able to maintain his family in comfort, and was fondly anticipating a fortune as phe result of the aforesaid tea plantation investment. Mrs Blake, who had small faith in her husband's money-making abilities, had nothing to say for or against the project, but quietly resigned herself to the inevitable without any very sanguine anticipations. She merely protested against being left in sole charge of her large and lively family — a charge for which, in her delicate health, she was thoroughly incompetent. It was therefore arranged that Mr Blake's absence was to be merely a temporary one ; that when he had placed matters in India on a fair footing, the management of the plantation was to be handed over to his wife's brother, George St. Hilary, who was meanwhile to £ake charge of his sister's house pending her husband's return. This arrangement was an immense comfort to Mrs Blake, who was passionately attached to her brother George, and had been mildly persecuting her husband for some time. on hi 6 behalf. George St. Hilary was a handsome, distin-guished-looking man of about 30- tall, athletic, with a well-shaped head, covered with curling light-brown hair, a closely-trimmed beard and moustache of still lighter brown, and keen, .laughing, bright blue eyes. He was a. gr.eat favourite wherever he went, being possessed of much ? eady wit and impertubable good humour. Most people believed him to be very clsrer, but jf so jit was a cleverness that had not hitherto done hijn much good, foe he was at present both impecunious and unemployed, and was looking forward ardently to the tea plantation scheme as a means of retrieving • his broken fortunes. He had been educated for, the Church, but had thrown up his prospects (from conscientious scruples hjs sister was accustomed to tell her friends, who accordingly regarded' him as a highly interesting young man). After this sacrifice to conscience he had not settled to anything particular, but Jihat a great future awaited so talented an individual was the fervent belief of his sister, Emily Blake, and her circle of intimates. He had travelled a good deal, was highly entertaining in company, possessed of a considerable fund of general knowledge, and was a proficient in most sports and accomplishments. Having "knocked about"' a 1 ffppd deal during the last year or two, he '

found his sister's comfortable house a very ; pleasant '^halting- 'placepand. ithe . task -of,Buperintending his nephews and nieces not uncongenial to one of his social and lighthearted temperament.. , , The eldest girl, Eva, was Adela's schoolfellow, and was^ just home for her raidsummer holidays ; she was a tall, thin, freckled girl of 17, with a closely-cropped head of brown hair, and a stoop; which all Miss Knaggs' calisthenics failed to cure. She was a typical school girl, full of "gush " and small talk, and given to, contracting violent friendships, in honour of which she poured forth the feelings of her soul in lines that would not scan, but were'neverthe'less loyally believed in by her girl friends as hardly inferior to Byron. Adela Mortimer had hitherto been the goadess of her allegiance, but her affections were at present in a state of transition between this old love and a new one—Clara Jackson, to wit, a fresh arrival' at Miss Knaggs' establishment, a handsome statuesque blonde, who was unanimously pronounced' to be the belle of the school. ' In the exuberance of her new friendship, Eva had insisted on Clara's coming to, spend part of the holidays with her, notwithstanding' that her old love, Adela, had already accepted her invitation for the same period; possibly she had a vague idea of contrasting the two favourites, so as to be better able to decide on which to confer the larger share of her esteem. ; The other members of the Blake family were Lionel and Charles, two lively, noisy boys, attending one of the city schools as day pupils, and four young children under nine years of age, who were kept as much in the background as possible by an attenuated nursery governess, supposed to be 30, and an orphan. (Two elder sons, who had inherited their father's restlessness, had embarked some months since for Australia, with the idea of leading idyllic lives as sheepfarmers, when they had accumulated sufficient capital to purchase the sheep ; but this, of course, was quite by the way, and, hardly entered into their calculations at all.) The above constituted the household to which our heroine is about to be introduced, if we except the servants, who were of the ordinary London type, and do not call for, any special notice. On the day of Adela's arrival she was met at the station by Eva and the two boys. The former gushed over her with her usual effusiveness, the latter greeted her with the brusqueness which is characteristic of British schoolboy on being introduced to a strange young lady. , " I'm so sorry Clara Jackson couldn't pome down with me, dear," cried Eva, as she inflicted her sixteenth kiss ; " she's lying down with a bad headache this afternoon. I'm dying to introduce her to you. I'm sure you'll admire her, she has so much style, you know. She's the last new girl at Miss Knaggs', and they all rave about her 1 She has hair much the same colour as yours, and blue eyes, too ; in fact, she is like you in a good many ways, but yet there's a dif-, f erence I " And Eva regarded her friend with a slightly critical glance, which caused Adela to wince with the least possible pang of jealousy. She bad never hitherto valued Eva's friendship very highly, but it was somewhat mortifying to find herself thus coolly compared with so apparently brilliant a rival. Lionel came to the rescue. " Miss Mortimer doesn't look naif so stuckup as Clara Jackson, anyhow," he blurted out, thrusting his hands very deep into, his pockets, and turning very red. Adela gave bim a friendly smile, which made him turn redder than ever ; and he withdrew into the corner of the cab which they were then entering, and remained in a state of sheepish collapse during the drive to the house. I " Oh, she isn't; a bit stuck-up I " protested Eva, "that's only you boys' vulgar way , of looking at things; she's sb majestic, you know, dear," she added, turning to Adela. "Uncle George admires her immensely, I assure you — and Uncle George knows much more about good looks than boys do," she added, with a spiteful glanpe in the direction of Lionel, who received it with lofty con : tempt. " What are those lines of Sir Walter Scott's, or somebody's," she continued, with an affected air, " describing that queenly style of beauty ? — well, she's like that, you know ; but I've written some lines on her myself, called " Ode to Clara," which I'll show you, and which Maggie Phipps declares were better than Walter Scott's ! " Oh, dry up, Eva ! " exclaimed Charlie, in a tone of much disgust. "I'm sure Miss Mortimer's sick of hearing about that everlasting Clara Jackson, and your stuff of poetry— arn't you,' Mls]s Mdrfimer 1 " r*. " ,?- < Adela was ; but 1 slCejdiQ ,' P°^ t want to, mortally offerid^Eva by confessing it, so she only laughed; •' ' " Qlara JacKson's' a stipk, continued Charlie. '?Sh,e dpsen't knpw^ cricket ball from a foQtbal}-f-s.ais go' the pth.er flay wh,en' I asked her ; ,'and she didn't Ifnqw who 'Grace was 1 Just fancy anybody not ■ knowing •w.u.i" .. .„. .„ „. , ; And, Charlie .snorted J with ineffable scorn. "Is Grace your sister 1 " asked Adela, innocently. ' ' ' ' Charlie stared in consternation, and Lionelrecovered himself ! sufficiently to say "Oh 1 scissorsl " while Eva' burst' into a fit of laughter. ■< "• ~ . \ , \ ff Th>irej you've done for yourself > in the/ •boy's estimation, Adela}'' ghe orje'd. '•Mfifr to know all about Grace, and Daft, and' ail* the rest of • them, and- where ' point ' ought to stand, and what a leg-bye' is* and an * oyer-i throw,' ignorance on these points is an unpardonable sin in the eyes -of -Lionel and Charlie! — but never mind, dear, you> will be able to enjoy yourself without' their good • opinion, I hope. Here we are at last !" as the cab drove~up to the door, j ' "! Adela was ushered into a cosy parlojuv: where a pretty, delicate woman, apparently abqut 40, was lying on a sofa.'' Her'brother sat npar her, and DQth wer6 laughing heartily over some chapters from « Piokwick," whioh George had been reading, aloud, for, the amusement of 'his sister. ■■" ' ' il ~'* ' He placed the book on the table, and rose" as the girl entered, ]and the ceremony of introduction was.gbne' through, Adela feeling . very.ehy'and coiintrifiedj in. thfe

so many new faces. She was particularly taken- aback by the* striking- appearance of* ("Uncle George,'^ having expected to, see a 'portly, baid-headed 'gentleman, ',of middle age. While 'answering "Mrs Blake's' kindly and languid little inquiries respecting her journey, &c., she sent a timidglance occasionally in the direction of the fascinating "uncle," who was engaged in merry raillery with Eva and the boys. The.iatter having enlisted him for a "cricket practice, he was presently borne off by them ;. and Eva repairing to the apartment of her sick friend, Adela was left' to take tea : in 'company with Mrs Blake. "The others will take their tea at the usual hour in the dining room, Mary," said Mrs Blake to the servant ; " but lam sure Miss Mortimer requires hers after her journey." , " * Adela was about to protest sliyly that she did not want anything, and was quite prepared to wait for the family meal, but Mrs Blake smilingly .interrupted her. ; "I- always take a cup of tea myself at this time, dear, so do not think you are putting us out of our way. I cannot stand the noise' of so many young people, so I always take my meals alone. You will think ours' a very noisy household after your quiet home," she added, laughing. " But George will not let the boys tease you; I don't know how I should manage without George now Mr Blake is away. He is so charming with young people, and so kind and companionable with me also ! " ' Adela did not know exactly what to say, so she bowed, and proceeded to munch her toast and sip her tea, while Mrs Blake talked on in her soft; languid manner. 11 1 shall really miss him dreadfully when he goes out to India, and the boys will be inconsolable I It does seem such a pity for talents like his to be buried out there on a plantation, away from society, in which he is so well qualified to. shine. I should have been so glad if he could have got some nice appointment at Home, and married andsettled near us. I always understood him so much better than the others did. . He has hot been well treated by his family, or he would have been in a much better position now ;, but he has such a splendid nature, you know, dear ; he never complains, or is* bitter about the oonduct of his relatives. Ah, well ! I shall live to see my brother a great man yet, and to show them all that my opinion of him was not ill-founded I " ' And » the invalid's face flushed and her eyes brightened as she dilated on her favourite theme. Adela sat -with her hands clasped in her lap,, and gazed at her hostess with an answering glow on her pretty face. This little eulogium of Mrs Blake's quite confirmed her first favourable impression of the adorable qualities of George St. Hilary. At this moment Eva entered. • I " I'm going to take dear-Clara up a cup of tea, .mamma^she exclaimed, in her. usual effusive style. *' Her head is the least little bit better, — isn't that delightful ? Ido hope she'll be all right to-morrow. She got overtired dancing last night at the Williams's, you know, Adela," she explained. "She waltzed such a tremendously long time with Uncle George (he is so enchanted with her dancing 1) and it thoroughly knocked her up. She has one of those awfully delicate organisations, you ' knows! You'll excuse my neglecting you so, Adela darling, on the first night of your arrival, but of course I must attend to dear suffering Clara I " " Oh I certainly," answered Adela, feeling somewhat discomforted, nevertheless. This Clara Jackson appeared to be amost tantalisingly attractive individual. Not' only had she evidently " cut out " Adela in the affections of her friend, but she seemed also to have made a conquest of ", Uncle George." , "What a lucky girl 1" said Adela to herself with a little pang of envy, and her thoughts reverted with sudden distaste to Edward Bruce, far away at Fuggleton. She put him out of her mind as speedily as possible, resolving at the same time not to tell her chattering friend Eva anything about that,little affair., , That first evening at the Blakes' was a most delightful one. The young folks repaired io the. dinning room, where they indulged to their hearts' content in charades,, games, and music until nearly 12 o'clock, They were joined by, two supremely ugly but very lively girls — Harriet and Amy Watson — friends of Kva's, and the fun was fast, and furious. George St. Hilary was the presiding genius 6t the party. He rattled off operatic selections on the piano, recited in a most thrilling manner, improvised games, and made himself generally agreeable. Adela went to bed in a a whirl of delight, with but one disturbing thought —We should get on famously without that Clara Jackson !" (To be continued.)